5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY

1. 5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY

2. DEFINITION OF GEOGRAPHY ge·og·ra·phy1:a science that deals with the description, distribution, and interaction of the diverse physical, biological, and cultural features of the earth's surfaceSource-Merriam Webster Collegiate Dictionary

3. IN PLAIN ENGLISH Geography is the study of the earth and everything on it.

4. 5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY MOVEMENT Human-Environment Interaction PLACE REGION LOCATION

5. THEME #1LOCATION • Location answers “Where are we?” • Location may be absolute or it may be relative.  These locations, whether relative or absolute, may be in the form of people or places.

6. THEME #1ABSOLUTE LOCATION • An absolute location is: latitude and longitude (global location) street address (local location). Examples: Paris, France is 48' North latitude and 2' East longitude Reagan Middle School is 1143 W Center St, Springville, UT 84663

7. THEME #1RELATIVE LOCATION Relative locations are described by landmarks, time, direction or distance from one place to another and may compare a particular place with another. Examples Next to Sodalicious Five minutes from Subway South of the police department

8. THEME #1LOCATION – In YOUR Words “Location tells where we are and can be absolute or relative. An absolute location is an exact spot that can be found with latitude and longitude or a street address. A relative location is a general area, like when someone says they live by Reagan Middle School.

9. LOCATION ACTIVITY Make a map of Utah! Put in place all of the things that you remember. Utah how you see it in your mind. Remember to include absolute location and relative location! You are not graded on how correct you are, but on your effort. Do not use a map.

10. THEME #2PLACE • The physical and human characteristics of a location.

11. What kind of place is it?  What do you think of when you imagine China?  Japan?  Russia?  Saudi Arabia?

12. THEME #2PHYSICALCHARACTERISTICS Physical characteristics are things that occur naturally and would still exist if humans did not wander the earth. They include mountains, rivers, soil, beaches, wildlife, climate and weather.  Examples: The Pyrenees Mountains The Nile River Clearwater Beach (FL)

13. THEME #2HUMANCHARACTERISTICS Places have human characteristics also.  Ideas and actions of people that result in changes to the environment. Such as buildings, roads, clothing, and food habits. Culture falls in this category. Examples: The White House Rice Fields The Autobahn

14. THEME #2PLACE – In YOUR Words “There are two different characteristics of place and they describe what a place is like. Places can have physical characteristics like mountains or rivers or they can have human characteristics which are man made, like buildings or towns that are built because land was moved, like New Orleans.”

15. ABC BOOK •  Create an ABC “book” or list to describe the place in which you live. Use all 26 letters of the alphabet. The word used for each letter might describe a unique physical feature, the weather, or the people and their traditions. When completed, the list should tell a reader unfamiliar with your community what life is like there. Example: A pple Trees B irds (specifically Robins C ucumber plants …. … M ountains … X crossings at railroads Y ellow sunflowers Z no zebras

16. THEME #3HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION • How humans and the environment affect each other • We change the environment and then sometimes Mother Nature changes it back.  For example, floods in the mid-West, Hurricane Katrina and earthquakes and mudslides in California.

17. THEME #3HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION There are three key concepts to human/environmental interaction: • Humans adapt to the environment. • Humans modify the environment. • Humans depend on the environment.

18. THEME #3HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION Humans Adapt to the Environment People wear clothing for warm and cold weather. People wear clothing for rain and sunshine. People build different houses in different parts of the world.

19. THEME #3HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION Humans Modify the Environment People heat & cool buildings People change land formations People build dams and lakes 

20. THEME #3HUMAN ENVIRONMENTAL INTERACTION Humans Depend on the Environment People depend on the Mississippi River for transportation. People depend on Lake Michigan for water. People depend on the Bering Sea for crab fishing. 

21. The Book https://www.chrisrossarthur.com/uploads/3/8/5/9/38596187/dr._seuss_the_loraxbokos-z1.pdf The Lorax. • Read the book and talk about the different characters in the book. 1) How do you feel about each character? 2) Who does each character symbolize? 3) How is each character affected by the Once-ler? 4)Who is the Somebody? https://www.ws.k12.ny.us/Downloads/Dr_Seuss_The_Lorax.pdf 5) How is this a form of Human Environment Interaction?

22. THEME #4MOVEMENT Humans Interacting on the Earth. The movement of people, the import and export of goods, and sharing ideas and information have all played major roles in shaping our world. 

23. People everywhere interact.  They travel from place to place and they communicate.  We live in a global village and global economy.

24. THEME #4MOVEMENT - PEOPLE People interact with each other through movement.  Humans occupy places unevenly on Earth because of the environment but also because we are social beings.  How do people move?

25. THEME #4MOVEMENT - GOODS We interact with each other through trade, including the importing and exporting of goods. How does that pencil in your hand get onto your desk?

26. THEME #4MOVEMENTIDEAS/INFORMATION We interact with each other through methods of mass communication such as e-mail, the internet and telephones. Have you ever communicated with someone in another country?

27. THEME #4MOVEMENT – In YOUR Words “There are three types of movement. People move by walking and using transportation like cars and planes. Goods like imports and exports are traded and move around the world. Mass communication or ideas travel from one place to another place within seconds. Examples are text messaging and instant messaging.”

28. Roots. •  Where did your families come from? Find out about your families' roots and where they came from. • Write down a brief history and be prepared to share your stories with the class.

29. THEME #5REGION • A region is an area that displays a unity in terms of the government, language, or possibly the landform or situation • A region is the basic unit of study in geography.  Regions are human constructs that can be mapped and analyzed. There are three basic types of regions.

30. THEME #5REGIONFORMAL REGIONS Formal regions are those defined by governmental or administrative boundaries. (i. e., United States, Wisconsin, Spain).  These regional boundaries are not open to dispute, therefore physical regions fall under this category (i. e., The Rockies, the Mississippi River).

31. THEME #5REGIONFUNCTIONAL REGIONS Functional regions are those defined by a function. (i. e., UPS, United Airlines Service area or a newspaper service area).  If the function ceases to exists, the region no longer exists. UPS Delivery Zones

32. THEME #5REGIONVERNACULAR REGIONS Vernacular regions are those loosely defined by people's perception. (i. e., The South, The Middle East).  

33. THEME #5REGION – In YOUR Words “Regions can be explained in three ways. One region is called formal, where there are boundaries that are made by the government or physical features. Another region is functional, a lot of businesses use these to map out territories for selling or traveling. The last region is perceptual or vernacular, these regions are formed by the way people think about an area, like the middle east. One place can be part of many regions.”

34. Time zones. • While you are sound asleep tonight, students in some other parts of the world are sitting at their school desks. • Why is that? • How do time zones affect your lives? • https://www.worldtimezone.com/ 1) How do time zones affect people as they fly from place to place? 2) What time is it right now in other parts of the world? 3) What type of region are time zones? Answer these questions on the back of your notes.

35. 5 THEMES OF GEOGRAPHY REAGAN MIDDLE SCHOOL